Nutmeg Volume 1: Early Fall: Taste Buddies

It’s not too late to preorder the first collection of Nutmeg by James F. Wright and Jackie Crofts. Early Fall: Taste Buddies collects the first three issues of the series for $11.99. It’ll be out at the end of June from Action Lab.

Poppy and Cassia, who met and schemed in the first issue, continue with their plan in the remaining issues. Turns out, though, that a nutmeg overdose can have very different effects depending on the amount and person.

We get more information on the girls’ home lives, a welcome addition to their characters, as well as being reminded how annoying Saffron and her Lady Rangers are. Even she gets some insight, though, as we see her family in the third chapter. People aren’t mean for no reason, and she has her own yoke she’s chafing against.

We also meet Anise and Ginger, two girls who work on the school paper and are also detectives… although there’s nothing much to detect in Vista Vale. I sense an upcoming confrontation, which leads to my biggest complaint about this collection. I wanted more. I can see so much likely to happen, but I have to wait for more issues for those items to be realized. The pacing is leisurely, slowly building suspense and concern while fleshing out the world and the cast.

I do like the characters and their voices and the premise and the artistic expressions and the setting. And the way, if read individually, the issues remind the reader of what’s been going on skillfully, without seeming redundant or obvious.

Also included in the collection will be the recipes and text pieces from the individual issues. The Nutmeg collection can be ordered from your local comic store with Diamond code APR15 0961.